We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Title: We Are the Goldens

Author: Dana Reinhardt

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Format: eBook

Page Number: 208

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis(Goodreads): Nell worships her older sister, Layla. They're one unit, intertwined: Nellayla. As Nell and her best friend, Felix, start their freshman year in high school, on Layla's turf, there's so much Nell looks forward to: Joining Layla on the varsity soccer team. Parties. Boys. Adventures.

   But the year takes a very different turn.

   Layla is changing, withdrawing. She's hiding something, and when Nell discovers what it is, and the consequences it might have, she struggles. She wants to support Layla, to be her confidante, to be the good sister she's always been. But with so much at stake, what secrets should she keep? What lies should she tell?

   Award-winning young adult author Dana Reinhardt explores questions of loyalty, love, and betrayal in this provocative and intimate novel. 

My Review

I was really looking forward to starting We Are the Goldens. It sounded like it could be really interesting. However, when I finished, I was really let down. This book wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be. 

This book is about two sisters who are really close, and Nell (the younger sister) knows a secret about Layla (the older sister). I was really intrigued by this concept, however, it just fell flat. To me, it felt like this book was mostly about the Nell and not about the secret the sisters shared. It didn’t have any of the spark that I was hoping for, and overall it was just okay. 

This book is told in second person point of view, and that was interesting because I had never read something in second person before. I thought it worked for the most part in this story, because Nell was telling this story to Layla. However, sometimes I got confused with the point of view and I didn’t always know who Nell was talking to. Overall, I think the point of view hurt the story. 

The characters in this book were really lifeless. They didn’t show any emotion, and since this book was Nell telling a story to Layla, we didn’t get to see much of the other characters. I didn’t really like any of the characters, because they just seemed boring and lifeless to me. I wished we could have gotten to know the characters better and that they had seemed more alive. 

Rating: 2/5 worms

Overall, this book was kind of a let down. Everything was rather bland and I thought it could be much better. 

Graphic Novel Review: The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Title: The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Author: Danica Novgorodoff

Release Date: March 25, 2014

Publisher: First Second Books

Format: Ebook

Page Number: 432

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis (Goodreads): In The Undertaking of Lily Chen, Deshi, a young man struggling to make a life for himself in rural China, watches his life comes unhinged when he accidentally kills his older brother in a fight. His distraught parents send him on a hopeless journey to acquire a bride for his brother to marry posthumously so he doesn't enter the next world alone—an ancient Chinese tradition with many modern adherents. Eligible female corpses are in short supply, however. When Deshi falls into company with a beautiful, angry, and single young woman named Lily, he sees a solution to his problems.  The only hitch is Lily is still very much alive. Danica Novgorodoff, author of Slow Storm and Refresh, Refresh, brings her distinctive voice and gorgeous, moody watercolors to this wry, beautiful, and surprising literary graphic novel.

My Review

This book was very different. And I didn't completely enjoy it. There was a lot of weird things going on through it, but some things I enjoyed. 

Since this is a graphic novel, I'm going to do a different kind of review.

Likes

• The Premise- The idea of this book was really different. It was something I had never heard before. 
• Super Quick Read- I read this book in about an hour and a half. It was really quick read. 

Dislikes

• The Creepiness of the Drawings- The art in this book was nice, however, it was so creepy that I couldn't enjoy it. 
• Weirdness- The whole book was just to creepy and weird. 
• Speed- Everything in this book went by too fast. 
• Ending- I didn't think anything in the ending really wrapped up the story. 

So, overall I didn't really enjoy this book. I just thought the whole thing was too weird, and not in a good way. 

Rating: 2/5 worms

The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: The Rose Throne

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Publisher: Egmont USA

Source: Publisher (Netgalley)

-Goodreads

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father's court. Marlissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?

 

My Review

The Rose Throne really let me down. I was hoping that it would live up to the synopsis, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. This book just dragged on for me and I found it hard to read and not very enjoyable.

 

Ailsbet and Marlissa were the two main characters in this story, and honestly, I felt that there really wasn't anything special about them. I was hoping for two very strong and relatable characters and I didn't really get that. I felt that they had some strengths, but mostly felt flat. I also didn't think that I could really relate to them, because I didn't really feel that they showed much emotion throughout the book and they just felt flat.

 

The plot was also rather slow. I liked reading about the court scenes, but sometimes that was really all that we read about. I wanted more from the story. I felt like the book dragged a bit as well, but it picked up a little bit at the end. The ending also bugged me, because nothing was really tied up, and while that doesn't usually bother me, I felt that there should have been something that let us know even a little about what happened to the two princesses.

 

The writing style was average. I really don't know what else to say. There weren't a ton of descriptions, so I don't even remember what the castle was like. I also didn't feel that the love interest was played out very well. I didn't know anything that was going on with him until close to the end of the book, and by then I really didn't care.

 

Rating: 2/5 worms

Though I hate to give any book a low rating, I didn't feel any connection towards this book. I thought everything was rather slow and flat, and the love interest wasn't done well for my taste.